2 stabbed in Liberty High School

LIBERTY — Two Liberty High School students were stabbed Friday morning when a fight broke out between two girls, village police and school officials said.

Leonard Sparks

LIBERTY — Two Liberty High School students were stabbed Friday morning when a fight broke out between two girls, village police and school officials said.

Steffie Burger, 16, is in custody. She is accused of using allegedly used a pocket knife to stab another female student in the leg during a fight, then cutting the hand of a male student, 17, who tried to separate the pair.

Both victims were taken to Catskill Regional Medical Center, where they were treated and released. By mid-morning the school had returned to its normal schedule.

"You're always horrified when things like this happen at any school," Superintendent William Silver said. "When it's your own, it just hits closer to home."

A routine school day turned chaotic around 8 a.m. when an altercation broke out between the two girls, police said. Students were ordered to stay put as school-resource officer Devin Brust and nearby staff responded to the fight, Liberty police Chief Scott Kinne said.

Brust took Burger into custody and Liberty police and school staff tended to the victims' injuries, Kinne said. The injuries were "superficial" and the incident over in minutes, he said.

"The relationship between the SRO and the school came into play, which helped get this resolved in a quick manner," he said.

Police charged Burger with four felonies: first-degree attempted assault and three counts of second-degree assault. She was also charged with two misdemeanors and sent without bail to Sullivan County Jail. Students who witnessed the incident met with Principal Jack Strassman and guidance counselors to give statements and to air concerns. Additional counseling will be available to students, the district said, and by the end of the day its website was updated to include copies of a letter to parents about the incident, in both English and Spanish.

lsparks@th-record.co

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